


i've had my moments

by thatiranianphantom



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Drabbles, F/F, F/M, It's a drabble collection!, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:35:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24922432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatiranianphantom/pseuds/thatiranianphantom
Summary: A snapshot of moments, across timelines and universes, for Bughead and friends.(June 2020 Tumblr Drabble Challenge)
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, Fangs Fogarty/Kevin Keller
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	i've had my moments

**Author's Note:**

> Reposting my contributions for the June 2020 Drabble Challenge here.
> 
> I just want to establish: rules clearly requested drabbles to be 100 words. But I'm a rebel who don't follow no stinkin' rules and also who doesn't know how to stop.

_**Lost in the Woods** _

The best laid plans, he supposes. A seemingly romantic date in the woods had led to the path virtually disappearing from beneath them, and now they are unceremoniously lost.

(“Not lost,” he insists. “On an adventure.” )

“Who would have thought the decision not to join the boy scouts would one day bite me in the ass?” Jughead groans, swivelling his head around. 

Betty lets out a giggle. 

“You, boy scouts? That was once on the table?”

“Don’t look so surprised, Cooper,” he grins. “I’ll have you know I was once quite robust.” 

She drapes herself on him, pinching his bicep playfully. “My strong man.”

(Archie finds them three minutes later, and points to the sign two feet to their left, with an arrow and the words “To Parking Lot”.) 

  
  
**_ Heat Wave _ **

It’s 3am, and neither of them have slept. 

“You know,” she mumbles, “The couch is comfortable.” 

He huffs out a breath. “Well then, maybe you should try it out.” 

She whips her head around to look at him incredulously. “I’m not the one taking up ¾ of the bed and insisting on blankets, in the middle of a heat wave!” 

“Oh, please, you’ve slapped me in the face every single night since we’ve been together because you have to be close, and you can’t control your limbs!” 

(When he finally stomps to the couch, she learns it wasn’t the heat keeping her up. They wake up[ the next morning, sweaty but entangled.) 

  
  
  
_**Missing Scene** _

She’s curled into his lap, breathing raggedly. 

He soothes a hand down her back and insists she take some water as the paramedics look her over. 

“Jug,” she whispers. “Where do I go now? My mom and my sister are gone, my dad is...dead.”

She breaks into a sob at the word, so he secures his arms around her, breathing soothing words into her hair. 

“You’re coming home with me,” he whispers. “You’re my family. I’ll take care of you.”

She relaxes a tiny bit at the words, but doesn’t let go of him until they’re both tucked under the covers in their bed. 

_**Chatroom/Discord Server** _

It had been borne out of convenience. There was a lot of information pertaining to the cases, and they needed a method nobody would try to peep in on.

Thus, #MurderWithPEPChatroom was born. 

At first, it was just a place to bounce ideas off each other, voicenote interviews they had with suspects, and theorize on culprits. 

They should have known it would go wrong, on the fateful day Betty had her hands full and had asked Archie to open the chatroom and text something to Jughead quickly. 

Not exactly the brightest bulb in the box, Archie had remembered nothing but the chat name, and before long, the entire school knew about the “murder chatroom”. Betty and Jughead had spent an entire day of frivolous conversations, reassuring people that it was “all in the name of detective work” and “absolutely not weird.” 

“Honestly, you two freaks deserve each other,” Chuck Clayton had muttered as he brushed past them in the hallways. “Murder kinks. Who does that?” 

  
  
**_ Two Truths and a Lie _ **

“That is _flagrantly_ false and I _will_ sue!” Cheryl hisses, her entire face pinched in anger.

“I’m sorry, Cheryl, but it’s the truth. Jughead and I have known each other since we were five. It simply stands to reason that we know each other better than you and Toni.”

Cheryl huffs out a breath. “Fine, then. Prove it.” 

Betty furrows her brow. “Prove it? How?”

“Two truths and a lie. Against each other. Full honesty.” Cheryl sounds triumphant, but Betty can’t imagine why. 

“Betty starts.”

Heaving a sigh, Betty turns to face her boyfriend. “Fine. My favorite color is blue, I broke five bones as a child, and my dream car is a ‘56 Ferarri.” 

Jughead ponders for a moment. “The car. Your favourite color is violet. Not too dark, but light enough that it looks cheery. It reminds you of spring, which reminds you of the Pickens Day Parade. And you did break five bones, two fingers, one rib, and an arm when you fell out of a tree by Sweetwater River. But the car...you’d pick an Aston Martin any day.” 

The others are gaping as they look at the couple, but Cheryl smooths it over quickly. 

  
“Hobo next,” she taps him on the shoulder. 

“I have a name, Cheryl,” Jughead snaps. He pauses a moment. “Okay. I once visited Boston, I’m scared of swimming, and I’ve been in love with Betty Cooper since I was fifteen.” 

Betty smiles tenderly at him, cupping his cheek, to the chorus of sarcastic “awwws” around them. 

“Guesses, Cousin?” Cheryl grins.

“Boston. Jughead will only go in the water if it’s been vetted for at least thirty minutes before -”

“Leeches!” He cuts in indignantly. 

“And we’ve been together since we were 15. So, Boston.” 

The flame on his cheeks is the first clue that she’s wrong. The second is when Archie snaps his fingers and remembers the road trip over a weekend with Fred to Boston when they were nine.

“Jug?” Betty presses. “I don’t get it. Where is the lie?”

His face is the color of a tomato, and he’s barely audible as he presses out “Maybe I had a bit of a thing for you before we were together.” 

Betty twists her hand into his. “Jughead Jones,” she says sternly. “How long?” 

He lets out a sigh, and his shoulders slump. “Ten. I was ten. At least when I _realized_ it.” 

  
  


_**Graduation** _

They’d made it. Through serial killers, death cults, organ harvesting, and a near murder. They were at the end. Betty heaves a long sigh, smiling as she feels her boyfriend’s arms come around her. 

They stand a minute, starting at the bedlam that surrounds the auditorium. Teachers, parents, students, even Mr. Honey looks stressed as he tries to herd people into their seats for the ceremony to begin. 

Betty feels Jughead smile against her neck. 

“We made it, Betty. We’re finished.” 

She nods. “And tomorrow it’ll all be over. And then on to college. Apart.” 

Jughead frowns and pulls back, spinning her to look at him. 

“Betty…”

“It’s a lot, Jug,” she looks down, unable to meet his eyes. “It’s four years apart, potentially six. Longer than we’ve been together.” 

“We’ll make it, Betty.” He sounds confident, the assured one, for once. 

“Archie and Veronica didn’t.” 

“Give them time. You know those two.”

She’s quiet for a moment, looking at him. He knows what she’s thinking. He always does. 

“Betts…” 

“Would it help, Jug. If we were to...would it help?” 

He considers it for a moment. “I kind of feel like it would add more pressure.” 

She nods. It’s what she expected. But the reassurance. It might have been nice. 

He notices her hesitation, and folds her in his arms once again. 

“It’s still gonna be us, Betty. During, after college, it’ll still be us. And after college, if I ask…”

“I’ll say yes,” she says, kissing him gently. “Whenever you ask, I’ll say yes.”

**_ Someone Else:  _ **

Her milkshake melts before she realizes she hasn’t taken a single sip. 

Trev Brown is sitting close to her, closer than might be construed as friendly, and she hadn’t noticed that either. 

She hadn’t noticed, mostly because her mind is occupied on how strange Jughead Jones, her longtime friend and co-writer at the Blue and Gold, had been acting when she told him about the date. 

Jughead, in his natural state, is one of the most verbose, eloquent people she’s ever met, but today, he stumbles in having the most basic conversation with her after Trev had come in to confirm their date. 

“That’s...I mean, it’s...great. Yeah. Because Trev is...Trev. And people like him. I mean, many people like him. Boys and girls alike. That Trev, he’s...likeable. That’s what they say.”

She had stifled a giggle. “Jug, how much time do you spend thinking about Trev?” 

It was funny then. Perhaps less so when Jughead ran from her like a scared rabbit for the rest of the day. 

  
  


But now, on a date that she had, if not actively looked forward to, not actually dreaded, she was spending her time thinking about her beanie-clad friend, enough to make the date sufficiently awkward. And, eventually, even Trev noticed. 

“Betty,” he says, trepidation lacing his tone. “Are you okay? You don’t look like you’re having fun. Is there...is there someone else” 

He’s a nice boy. Sweet, caring. But he’s not who she’s thinking about.

That, in itself, is a rather new concept, because she’s not used to thinking about Jughead so much. She’s not used to him being the someone else. 

But evidently, he is. 

  
Evidently, her mind fixates on black hair and beanies and his soft way with words (today notwithstanding). 

“Yes, Trev. I think there might be.” 

  
  


_**Fatherhood** _

He becomes a father on Father’s Day, and their family grows from the two of them to four.

Twins were an unexpected surprise, but a welcome one.

He permits Veronica to hold one, for five carefully counted out minutes. Then, under a death glare from Betty, he allows Cheryl three minutes with the other. 

Archie gets seven minutes.

Alice, FP and Jellybean get fourteen, because he’s still a little terrified of Alice Cooper, deep down. 

He doesn’t even realize he’s doing it, until Betty smacks him lightly on the arm and tells him he’s already got the “dad glare” down, and the only time he looks normal is with the twins firmly in his arms. 

He pulls Betty into him with one arm, a baby in the other, and grins, bringing his lips down to nuzzle the soft hair. 

“Can you blame me? These kids aren’t leaving our sight until they’re at least 15. It’s Riverdale, Betty. You just never know.” 

  
  
  


_**Blue and Gold Couch** _

“Oh god, you guys!” As quickly as she came into the Blue and Gold offices with a message for Betty and Jughead, Veronica spins away, face turning bright red. 

She’s made it back into the hallway, trying to catch her breath, when Kevin slides an arm around her waist, pulling her forward with a laugh. 

“Catch them on the couch again?” he says knowingly.

Veronica groans, rubbing at her eyes. “Good god. Who _hasn’t_ caught them by this point?”

Kevin nods. “Catching Bughead on the couch is practically a rite of passage.”

“Do they never learn?” Veronica groans. 

(Their friends stumble out five minutes later, clothes askew, red-cheeked. It takes Veronica a full day to be able to meet their eyes again.) 

  
  
  


_**Toni** _

“He still cares about you, you know.”

Betty’s head shoots up as Toni’s words break the relative peace in the auto room.

“I don’t -” 

“You kinda broke his heart.” Toni doesn’t look at her. “But he still cares.” 

She hates that she has to know, and she hates the way the words tremble coming out. 

“You’ve been...talking to him?”

Toni snorts. “Please, Blondie. We’re not going to make this a girl-against-girl situation. You still care about him. He still cares about you. And despite what you might think of me, I don’t want to hurt you either.” 

It comforts something inside her. She doesn’t quite smile, but maybe her face relaxes a bit. 

“So….what did he say about me?”

Toni’s mouth quirks and she gives a dramatic groan. “He’s insufferable. I swear god, Blondie, his entire existence is just sad moping, staring at that typewriter, and aborted ‘Betty would say’ attempts. Get back together soon, and put all of us out of our misery.” 

  
  


_**Babysitter** _

“Are _you_ the babysitter?” 

It’s said with incredulity. She hadn’t really expected him to react well, but they were out of options and he was the first one that said yes. 

Smoothly, she cuts in and pushes her husband towards the bedroom.

“Suit. You have five minutes to get your suit on, Jughead Jones. Marshall all your ‘guy’ instincts, because we have to be out the door in six and half minutes, no exceptions.” 

He looks at her as if she’s certifiably insane, then down at their newly minted babysitter, already sitting on the floor, playing with the twins. 

“ _Reggie Mantle_ is not babysitting my children, Betty. Not happening.” 

She gives a frustrated sigh. “Jughead. He’s here, he’s willing, and this is what we’re going with. Now, get dressed or I swear to god, you will not like the punishment I will dole out if we’re late.” 

She gives a pointed look down, and he’s nervous and suspicious, but he’s not an idiot.

(As they leave, Betty asks him what’s the worst that could possibly happen. It silences him until the next day, when she accidentally breaks a jar and one of the twins reacts with a gleeful “Shit!”) 

  
  


_**Reality Show** _

“It’s a profound portrait of the educational system in America, and the lack of healthcare access to teens worldwide that lead them to engage in a cycle of young motherhood and poverty, but is in itself a hindrance because it perpetuates the idea that parenthood can make you a celebrity.” 

Betty looks at him incredulously. “It’s fluff made easily digestible to the masses, Jughead. I can’t believe you, who claims to value great literature and film, would lower yourself to this.”

She makes for the remote, catching it before he can. 

“Everyone needs something to turn their brain off to, Betts.” He slips an arm around her, cuddling her into his side. 

“I’m worried your brain may never come back on,” she grumbles. “Clearly, when we’re watching Teen Mom, we’re seeing two different things.” 

He plants a kiss on her shoulder, lowering his head bashfully. 

She checks the DVR, and sees no more than sixteen episodes of Teen Mom recorded. 

Pulling back to look at him, she sees the red flaming his cheeks. 

“Jughead!” 

He shrugs. “I got bored one day. Figured I’d see what normal teens who don’t solve murders get up to, but as it turns out, they seemed to put out a casting call for America’s most hopeless. It’s sadly addictive. 

She deletes an episode and snuggles back in with a groan. “You are so lucky I married you for your looks.” 

_**Role Reversal** _

He begs Veronica to do it. She knows Betty well, so she knows what to say, and she’ll be there for Betty, after.

He goes home and stares hard at the fridge, knowing how his family copes with things like this. 

It seems the thing to do, right? Drink, after you were forced by a psychotic hooded killer into giving up the best thing in your life? When you know you’ll never see the person you want to spend your whole life with again, isn’t a drink earned?

He’s reaching for the fridge when he hears the door, and he freezes when he hears the voice. 

“Juggie? I know you’re in there. Open up.” 

He doesn’t want to. It’s not safe for her here. But he’s never been able to refuse a Betty Cooper command. 

She throws herself into his arms the second the door opens, which is the last thing he expects.

“Betty...you can’t be here. It’s not safe, you’re not safe. You’ve got to…”

Her hands land on his cheeks, and all words cease. 

“I want to know what’s going on, Juggie. You can’t just…you can’t just do that. What’s going on?”

It takes him only a moment more to break. 

_**Rescue Mission** _

He’s a shell of who he used to be. The god, she’d sliced her fingers into his head and sucked out everything that used to be him. 

Now he wanders the room, spouting nonsense words, giving the occasional mumble about how he needs to “be there for the big event.” 

Sometimes he screams. At sudden movement, at light, at any noise. He screams and retreats into a corner and she has to hold him against her, still mumbling scattered words. 

  
“I have to work on the factors. It has to be tested, of course. For plastic. Plastic and their six sisters.” 

The world is crumbling and she tries to do her best to help, while on a mission to rescue him from his own mind. 

(Later, she’ll perform a spell she’s only practiced on the witch, a crazy move by any indications. They’ll be blasted to opposite corners of the room, but she’ll crawl over to him and breathe his name, too afraid to hope. 

“...Jug?”

He looks at her, and his eyes are _him._

“Betty?”

They both cry. They fall into each other’s arms as he sobs. “I got so lost.”

“I found you,” she gasps, raining kisses down on his cheeks and forehead. “I will always find you.”)

  
  
  


_**Fred’s Ladder** _

He’s doing it. He’s decided. No going back. 

No, he’s waited too long already, and he’s not going to miss his shot. 

And his options are to either face Alice Cooper head on, or ascend the ten feet or so, up the ladder to her room.

And that would be a much easier choice, but for his fear of heights. 

And also his fear of rejection. 

Which seemed more realistic, because _Betty Cooper_? Who was he kidding? If she didn’t shove him away in disgust, it would be a win. 

He’s risking a lot, climbing this ladder. He’s risking ruining one of the only steady friendships he has. 

There’s so much of a chance that he’s going to ruin everything. 

But then again, there’s a chance that he’ll be able to finally express what he’s feeling to the girl who’s been making his stomach do this funny little swoop since he was ten years old. 

And maybe, _maybe_ , she’ll even feel the same. 

That thought is worth it. It’s worth the risk. 

Heaving a deep breath, Jughead puts one foot on the ladder, then the other, and climbs. 

_**Cartoons** _

He’s still fuming when Betty gets home. She kisses their daughter, kisses him on the cheek, and doesn’t seem to notice his tone of aggravation until a few minutes later. 

When she does, she seems perfectly content to let him pace, to let him wind tighter and tighter until he finally breaks. 

“Anything you want to say, baby?” 

He gives a tense shake of his head. “They can’t just come back _now_.”

Her brow furrows. “Okay, let’s go under the assumption that I may need a bit more context.” 

He grabs their daughter and kisses her cheek tenderly, as if he’s trying to apologize. 

“We were watching cartoons today,” Jughead says. He says it like it’s an explanation, but it clarifies nothing. 

“And then PBS sent me a text alert for a “news story”,” he sets air quotes around the word, spitting it out like a curse. 

He fishes out his phone, flips to the appropriate page and brandishes it in front of her, looking like he’s just handed her an announcement of war. 

_Max and Ruby’s Parents to Make an Appearance._

He’s fuming when she looks back at him, but she feels no more enlightened now than she did before. 

“They can’t just come back into the show _now._ Are we supposed to accept their abandonment, and then just forgive them for letting a six year old raise her sibling _alone_? Oh, no. We, the fans will not stand for this.” 

_**I’m Not Jealous** _

He can see in the way Kevin is staring at him, that maybe he’s said too much. The thing was, he wasn’t aware he was saying anything, really. 

It’s being more honest than he’s perhaps comfortable being when he admits that it _may_ have started when Trev came in, and put a smile on Betty’s face. A smile that Trev put there, that’s the part he keeps sticking on. 

He made her smile that beautiful smile. She’s going out with him. 

“Yep, tonight.” Kevin’s voice replies. 

Oh. Maybe he’d said that last sentence out loud. 

The thing is, he’s not sure why he’s surprised. He’s not bothered, of course. But he also shouldn’t be surprised. 

He’s apparently still muttering about it ten minutes later, because Kevin finally groans and asks him if he has anything to share with the class, earning him a glare. 

Betty skips out a few minutes later to get ready for her _date_ , so Kevin and Jughead are left alone, and yes, maybe he’s still thinking about it. 

“Of course he wants to go out with Betty,” he murmurs. 

As if they’re having a conversation, Kevin hums in agreement. “Our B.Coop is a looker, that’s for sure.” 

He glares again, and continues his mutters. He’s not _talking_ to Kevin, because he’s not jealous.

“Of course, he’s going out with Betty. I can just imagine him,” he affects a voice much too high pitched to be Trev, but he’s not living too close to the level of reality now. 

“Oh yes,” he mocks. “I’ll go out with Betty. Betty’s so pretty, Betty’s so smart, she’s so kind, she smells so….” 

He cuts himself off when he can feel Kevin’s eyes. 

“What?” He snaps. 

Grinning ear to ear, Kevin shakes his head. “Nothing, nothing. Jealousy looks good on you, Jones.” 

“I’m not _jealous_!” 

  
  
  


_**Pet Platypus** _

She’s five when she watches her first episode of Phinneus and Ferb, and from that moment, her desire for a pet platypus is formed. 

She shares it with her very best friend, Jughead Jones, and he concurs. 

When they’re eight, they make a long winded comic book out of messily stapled together lined paper, all about the adventures of Betty, Jughead and Harry the Platypus. 

Then they get older, drift apart and back together again, and it becomes one of many lost dreams of childhood. 

Until the day they move in together, when Jughead presents her with that very comic, wrapped in a bow, and presented with a gigantic platypus stuffed animal. 

It stays in their room until the day it’s claimed by their son. 

_**Job Interview** _

“It’s not that you’re _bad_ , per se, Juggie. You just have a resting face that comes off a little…moody.” 

  
“Moody? What does that even mean?”

She sighs. “It’s just not the best look for a job interview, Jug. Interviewers like it when you throw the occasional smile into it.” 

He groans. “So basically, I have to act like one of those yoga instructors with a full face of makeup on that you’re always using for workouts?” 

No,” she cautions. “No, that’s a level of peppy that will send them running for the hills. Especially on you. Just...a smile every now and then.” 

If anything, he looks even more glum. “Practice on me. Come on. One smile. Pretend you like me.” 

The corners of his mouth quirk up, and he gives her a genuine smile. It’s a lovely smile, and she smiles back. 

“Great, now pretend you’re looking at the interviewer.”

The smile changes instantly, to something resembling a grimace with teeth. 

She hesitates for a moment. “You know, maybe I was wrong.” 

She pats him on the cheek. “This is a cute face, how could they say no?” 

_**Skinny Dipping** _

It really does seem like a good idea at the time. They’re teenagers. This is a teenager-y thing to do. 

And they’ve done it successfully before. 

Until the time where Jughead gets a leech attached to his foot and refuses to go back in the water. 

Or until Betty forgets about the cut on her arm and how swimming hole water is not the most sanitary in an open wound. 

Or when Archie pushes the “don’t swim after” date a bit long and coughs for the next week. 

All told, they agree to leave skinny dipping as a thing of the past. 

(Or at least Betty and Jughead do, until their honeymoon.) 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi to me on Tumblr at thatiranianphantom dot tumblr dot com. 
> 
> (If anyone is ever wondering about the name, google Ramin Karimloo)


End file.
